Alcohol free beer – blind tasting

Low alcohol beer taste test

As it’s Dry January / Dryathalon time, and as the Scottish government recently made changes to the legal alcohol limit in Scotland meaning that it’s not safe to drive if you’ve been within 100 yards of a pub in the last 24 hours, we thought we would organise a blind alcohol-free beer tasting…

Low alcohol beer taste test
Low alcohol beer taste test
Erdinger Low alcohol beer taste test
Erdinger alkoholfrei
Low alcohol beer taste test
Morrison’s own brand pilsner
Hee haw Low alcohol beer taste test
Hee Haw by Tennents
Krombacher Low alcohol beer taste test
Krombacher non-alcoholic
Alhambra Low alcohol beer taste test
Alhambra Sin
Low alcohol beer taste test
Bottles and beer lined up

Mrs Foodie lined them up for Mr Foodie to taste. His tasting notes:

Beer 1
Look: Bubbles, decent head, clear light amber
Aroma: metal/pils
Taste: lemony, malty, bitter, actually not bad for alcohol-free

Beer 2
Look: clear but darker than beer 1, bubbly with flat head.
Aroma: grain/metal – smells like a pilsner
Taste: very little taste, sweet, bitter, metally, watery…flat

Beer 3
Look: clear, medium bubbles, flat head
Aroma: metal, caramel, slightly unpleasant
Taste: creamy butterscotch (think Werthers originals)

Beer 4
Look: clear, bubbly, decent head
Aroma: sweet cereal, reminds us of “Start” cereal!
Taste: sweet, sweet honey

Beer 5
Look: bubbly but no head
Aroma: sweet honey
Taste: a bit flat, lemony with mild bitterness

Beer 1 was Erdinger alkoholfrei
Beer 2 was Morrisons low alcohol Czech lager
Beer 3 was Alhambra sin alcohol
Beer 4 was Krombacher non-alcoholic
Beer 5 was Tennents Hee Haw

And the verdict: Erdinger was the winner with Krombacher a close second! Mr Foodie was releaved to have picked both the German beers 1st and 2nd!

We also tried two other beers seperately, Maisel’s Weisse alkoholfrei – a lively cloudy wheaty malty attemot that was drinkable and Schneider Weisse Mein Alkoholfreies which was also very lively, sweet and wheaty like liquid bread, but we still reckon the Erdinger bottle was the best overall.

Emma

Emma

Hello!

I am Emma and with my husband Mark write Foodie Explorers, which is a food and travel website.

I am a member of the Guild of Food Writers and British Guild of Travel Writers.

We have a wide range of judging experience covering products, hotels and have judged, for example, for Great Taste Awards and Scottish Baker of the Year.

Along the way Mark gained WSET Level 2 in Wine and I have WSET Level 2 in Spirits as well as picking up an award with The Scotsman Food and Drink Awards.    

Usually I can be found sleeping beside a cat.

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